PJ Part 4 — Every Setback is a Setup for a Comeback

That’s what we keep telling ourselves anyway.

With our allotted time in South Africa expiring soon, we tried one last attempt to get PJ on the road. Just needing head gaskets and facing numerous delays getting them in Joburg, we decided to order them online. After paying to get them through customs, they arrived Wednesday, September 4th, five days before we had to be out of the country. Thankfully, they were the right parts and Freek got right to work. Thursday afternoon he sent us a video of PJ’s new engine running and we were set to pick him up on Friday afternoon. Freek told us to check the oil & radiator daily and that we might need to add some water to the radiator as it all worked through the engine. After one more night at Westmoreland Lodge and a big shopping trip, we hit the road Saturday. Namibia or bust!

The sun was rising steadily, as was the temperature, and Coons started to get pretty hot. We turned on the A/C, waited for the hot air to turn to cold… still waiting… uh oh. No A/C and the temperature already over 90 degrees. Did we mention we were going to Namibia aka the heart of the Kalahari desert? We rolled down the windows and made it to our first stop halfway across South Africa at Red Sands Lodge — no buffet for us this time! It felt great to be camping again and we celebrated with steaks on the grill and a nice bottle of wine.

The next morning Coons checked the engine and sure enough, we needed to add water to the radiator. No big deal, Freek had warned us about it, but at least the oil was looking good. We tried stopping at a couple of places to get the A/C checked out, but of course, it was a Sunday (it’s always a Sunday!) and no one was open, so we crossed the border into Namibia and made our way to stop #1 — Fish River Canyon. By the time we made it to our wild camp spot in a dry river bed, we were sticking to the seats and covered in dust from cracking the windows on Namibia’s dirt roads. But we were finally wild camping in the desert!

After sunrise at the canyon, we headed to the nearest major town (Keetmanshoop) to try and get the A/C fixed. The desert in Africa is really, really, hot and our seats are very, very leather. After a couple of inquiries, we found an auto electric shop that could check out the A/C. After a few minutes, they found two issues. The first was one of the pulleys on the A/C had bound and needed to be replaced (also there was no belt… IAAAAANNNN!!). The second was much more serious, apparently, we had a leak in the radiator pipe.

“So that’s why we have to keep adding water to this thing.”

They sent us to another shop where they were able to get the pully off and realized it was on the wrong way and was binding up the bearing. They switched it around, added a belt, and put a new radiator pipe on. After starting, PJ immediately started cranking out cold air and we knew we were back in business. 90 minutes & $45 later, we were back on the road to Sossusvlei.

The next issue reared its head when we were leaving Swakopmund. After sitting for two days, we started up PJ and immediately looked at each other. Something doesn’t sound right. We were about to head up to Etosha National Park where we would be driving around all day on safari, not the best place for more engine trouble. We quickly found a mechanic on iOverlander (the best app ever) and headed over to get it checked out. After 30 seconds, the mechanic told us we had a flap loose where the exhaust pipes meet. Ten minutes under the car saw it sealed up and sounding much better. We were on our way again, this time only losing 30 minutes & $12.

With no more issues in Namibia, we pulled into the Nanda River Lodge in the Caprivi Strip and found a perfect campsite on the water. Sites like these certainly ease the headaches of owning a 25-year-old car in Africa. We drove 4,000 kms, the entire length of Namibia, and only (only?) had two mechanical issues, both of which were fairly easy fixes.

After those few minor fixes in Namibia, PJ has performed like a champ. Namibia meant long distances, badly corrugated roads, and our first taste of sand driving but PJ handled it all brilliantly.

After arriving in Botswana, we spent a day exploring Moremi Game Reserve. Not realizing the sand levels in the park, we got bogged down in the sand after a couple of kilometers. Out came the tire deflator and shovel and we were soon on our way again. In our attempt to see some remote areas, we successfully navigated three water crossings — the last one even got our hood a bit wet!

After meeting up with Mike & Allison, we decided to cross Chobe National Park to Kasane. We were a bit worried about the sand and lack of fuel (especially after hearing horror stories from a local mechanic), but our two Mitsubishis made it through just fine despite the heat and deep sand.

It feels great to finally be on the road and while we’re still holding our breath every time we think we hear a noise, it seems like the worst is behind us and we can enjoy life on the road. Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi are up next followed by a long stretch through western Tanzania until we reach Lugazi where we’ll spend a month volunteering. Can’t wait to see where PJ brings us next!